Doris Kist performed the demanding task of proofreading it.
I also want to thank Cecyle S. Neidle, the editor of the
Immigrant Heritage of America series, for her helpful supervision
and advice. Finally, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my wife,
Jean, for typing the manuscript, for a host of other
miscellaneous tasks and,
above all, for her forbearance and encouragement.
N. C.
Part One From Freedom to Slavery
CHAPTER 1
African Origins
The Human Cradle
THREE and a half centuries of immigration have injected
ever-fresh doses of energy and tension into the American
bloodstream. As diverse peoples learned to live together, they
became a dynamo generating both creativity and conflict. One of
the most diverse elements in American life was introduced when
Africans were forcibly brought to the American colonies. The
American experiment had begun and consisted mainly of white men
with a European heritage. The African was of a different color,
had a different language, a different religion, and had an entirely
different world view. But perhaps the most striking contrast was
that, while the European came voluntarily in search of greater
individual opportunity, the African came in chains.
Pages:
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26